Akira Matsu, a member of the opposition Komeito, used a meeting of the House of Councilors Committee on the Budget meeting to urge the government to put Fukushima prefecture residents at ease over radiation fears.

Matsu recounted the story of a lawyer from Aizu-Wakamatsu, located about 100 kilometers (around 62 miles) from the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, who said her children had been humiliated for not drinking milk provided with their school lunches.

Matsu likened treatment of the children to that handed out to suspected wartime traitors.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura and Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yukio Edano responded to Matsu’s claims by laughing, eliciting an angry response from the opposition House of Councilors member.

“Please don’t laugh,” Matsu said to the Cabinet ministers. “This is no laughing matter. This is how the people of Fukushima are really feeling.”